Photo by Don Mann Riley Merlino pitched effectively into the sixth inning to gain the win.

Matt Laitala went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a triple and scored three runs as the Woodinville AA American Legion team beat Bellevue 6-3 at WHS on Thursday. Laitala’s big day at the plate upped his team-leading batting average to a white-hot .588 after 13 games. The Falcons are 11-2.

Riley Merlino pitched into the sixth inning, allowing one earned run to gain the victory and Eric Anthony retired all five batters he faced for the save.

Woodinville got on the board first when Laitala dumped a floater into no-man’s land behind second base and hustled for a double when nobody covered the bag.

He moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a Jake Segesser grounder.

Bellevue manufactured a run on two singles, a double steal and a groundout to tie it 1-1.

Photo by Don Mann Matt Laitala, who went 3-for-3 at the plate, advances to third base on a wild pitch.

The Wolverines took a 3-1 lead in the fourth after two free passes and a two-out, opposite field triple into the left field corner by Jihad Mardini. But Woodinville stormed right back: Line drive single by Max Carter, line drive double by Tommy Wick, line drive to the fence by Laitala for a standup triple and one out later Matthew Spencer drilled a single through a drawn in infield to put the Falcons up 4-3. Bellevue went hitless over the final three innings and Woodinville added two more runs in the sixth on a Laitala double, Segesser single and Spencer’s sacrifice fly.

The Falcons will travel to Wenatchee this week to compete in the Apple Valley Jr. Legion Invitational beginning Thursday.